Iran demanded compensation from the United States and Israel at the COP31 conference in Antalya for environmental damage that Tehran links to military strikes against the country. The demand was made by President Masoud Pezeshkian during the speeches by world leaders on the third day of the two-week climate conference.
“We expect the international community to build a genuine and meaningful link between climate commitments in peacetime and responsibility during wartime, to document and assess the environmental damage caused by military aggression, and to develop compensation mechanisms,” Pezeshkian said, according to Reuters.
Tehran Cited Oil Spills and Emissions
According to Reuters, the United States and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran in late February 2026. The conflict spread to Lebanon and the Persian Gulf, with strikes being carried out against energy infrastructure in Iran and the region, as well as maritime transport.
Reuters reported that the military actions caused environmental damage, including significant oil spills. Iran, for its part, repeatedly attacked oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a separate statement cited by Agence France-Presse, Pezeshkian claimed that a strike on fuel facilities in the southern part of the country caused emissions of around 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. According to him, a strike on fuel depots near Tehran led to the release of a further approximately 1 million tonnes.
The specific quantities have not been independently confirmed. Agence France-Presse noted that the claims about the scale of the damage could not be independently verified, although oil spills have been recorded off the coasts of Persian Gulf states.
No International Procedure for Wartime Environmental Damage
According to Reuters, existing international climate agreements provide funding from wealthy countries for adaptation to climate change and for addressing its consequences. However, they contain no separate provision governing the environmental consequences of military strikes.
This is the basis of Iran’s call for a new mechanism to establish the causal link between military actions and the damage caused, calculate the losses, and determine responsibility for them. So far, the creation of such a procedure has not been announced at COP31.
The conflict involving Iran became one of the issues linking the climate talks to the consequences of war for energy infrastructure, shipping, and the environment. At the same time, Reuters reported that an international scientific consortium expects a slight decline in global fossil fuel emissions in 2026, partly due to high fuel prices and the wider use of renewable energy following the start of the conflict.
Sources: al-monitor.com, timesofisrael.com, apnews.com